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Lafayette blogger shares financial planning wisdom

Kathy Mayer
3:06 p.m. EDT May 8, 2014

Emily Guy Birken speaks at Barnes and Noble about her book, “The 5 Years Before You Retire.”
(Photo:
Photo provided/Kathy Mayer
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A finance blogger by day and novelist in her spare time, Emily Guy Birken of Lafayette recently put her fingers to the keyboard and wrote “The 5 Years Before You Retire,” a book published this year by Adams Media.

Despite the unlucky number of chapters — 13 — this single-source guide could be a stroke of luck for those who need to know about finances, Social Security, Medicare, budgeting, investing, health care and all those other must-know but hate-to-research topics.

Fortunately for her readers, Birken loves digging for information, then presenting it simply and with straightforward prose.

“Research has always been something I really enjoy, so I had a great time gathering up the information about the various topics and talking to experts,” she said. “It felt good to know that I was creating a resource for pre-retirees of all the information they will need to navigate retirement.”

Even readers who are years away from that five-years-to-go milestone will find it valuable, Birken said.

Consulting a qualified financial planner is one of her strongest points, and she hit on it during a presentation earlier this year at Barnes & Noble.

“Just like you wouldn’t fix your own teeth or a broken leg, you shouldn’t plan your own retirement,” she said. “Find a financial planner you can trust — look for one with knowledge.”

Her book covers the different types of financial planners, how to find a good one and questions you should ask. And because she’s not a financial planner, her advice is objective.

“If you only ask one question, make it this one,” she said. “ ‘How are you compensated?’ Any answer is OK, as long as you know how it will affect your bottom line.”

Another recommendation: “Find someone who will be an ally, not a friend or someone who will take over.”

She also advocates for taking care of yourself, especially when it comes to planning for retirement. “You are the only one who truly cares about your money, and it’s OK to think of yourself first.”

A former high school English teacher, Birken polished her communication skills in the classroom before taking up financial writing several years ago.

“I have blogged on pretty much anything personal-finance related, from retirement to budgeting to credit cards to real estate,” she said. “My favorite topics, however, deal with the psychology of money and behavioral economics. We tend to make irrational decisions about money, and I really enjoy exploring the reasons why.”

She writes “Live Like a Mensch,” a column on, The Dollar Stretcher a personal finance website. She’s also written for Huffington Post, Kipplinger’s, MSN Money, the New York Times online, Money Crashers, Yahoo! Finance, Business Insider and others. And she edits and writes the blog FinCon, an annual financial bloggers conference.

“The 5 Years Before You Retire” is available for $17.99 at most bookstores and online.